We all have a different relationship with money. Recognising your money personality can help you better understand yours. Although no member of each group has exactly the same attitude towards their finances, researchers have identified four common attitudes towards money: Money Worship, Money Avoidance, Money Vigilance and Money Status. 

Psychologists think that our internal beliefs around money were formed by our childhood experiences, the community we grew up in and the spending habits of our family. Here is a description of the four money personalities:

Money Worship

If you’re a money worshipper, you might think that money could solve all your problems and that you can never reach a point when you’ll have enough. People who fit into this category are most likely to overspend on themselves or others and rack up credit card debts.  According to research by Creighton University, this is the most common money personality among Americans.

People who fit into this personality type might have to put some measures in place to control their spending habits. They could make a monthly budget and remind themselves to regularly check their bank balance to keep a tab on their spending.

Money Avoidance 

Money avoiders believe that they don’t deserve the money they have and try to avoid thinking about their finances. If you’re a money avoider, you might try to shift your money onto others, rather than take responsibility for making financial decisions. 

Money avoiders can benefit from setting up automatic contributions to savings accounts or speaking to a financial adviser to remove some of the responsibility around their finances.

Money Vigilance

If you’re extremely frugal and firmly believe saving for the future is the best use of money, chances are you’re money vigilant. People who fit in this category tend to derive more satisfaction from reading the interest rate on their bank statement than from buying something new. What’s more, they’re likely to prefer a conservative investment strategy and avoid financial risk.

If you fit into this personality type, you should be careful not to allow secrecy to stand in the way of better money habits. 

Money Status

People who fit into this personality type equate money with status. As a result, they may be driven to earn more money than their peers purely for the sake of earning more money. Although people who hold their net-worth in such high regard are likely to be high earners, they can be liable to make risky decisions and buy expensive things that reflect their wealth. 

If you tend to focus on “money status”, it’s a good idea to stop and think before making an expensive purchase as you could be at risk of buying things on impulse.